Forestry Minister David Carter has welcomed findings from the 2008 Montreal Process report showing New Zealand is making steady progress in forest conservation and sustainable forest management. Mr Carter acknowledged the contribution of the Montreal Process working group in a keynote address to the World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires last week.
"The report shows positive progress for about half the indicators and maintenance of standards, some of which were already high, for most of the other indicators since the first Montreal Process report in 2003," says Mr Carter. "Across the country, there has been increased adoption of sustainable forest management practices, and an increasing use of forests for a range of recreation pursuits by both local and international visitors.”
"Sustainable forest management has long been recognised as fundamental to sound forestry. I congratulate the industry for its efforts in this area. It is also pleasing to see the progress being made in improving the knowledge about New Zealand forests," says Mr Carter.
New Zealand has been a member of the Montreal Process working group since its inception in 1994. It was formed to develop and implement internationally agreed criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of forests.
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